Thursday, July 16, 2009

WHY AREN'T CATS BALD ???





I am not the best housekeeper nor am I the worst. To vacuum is my least favorite chore but that doesn't stop me. I just grit my teeth and shove. Am so grateful that I have a small house. I crank out the old Sears canister model about every 3 or 4 days and am always amazed at the amount of cat hair my two cats can deposit in that amount of time. I am sure I could vacuum daily or hourly but come on, I am old, these are my golden years and I am not that anal.

These hair tumbleweeds hide in the darnedest places. They hide, that is, till I have company. Bring out the tea and crumpets for company and I can guarantee the tumbleweeds will dance across the floor as the A/C comes to life. How do they get so large yet delicate in such a short amount of time? Not having carpets gives them free reign to gather and group. They truly are works of art and engineering.

Why don't cats have bare spots and sport comb overs? Amazingly, their coat looks the same summer or winter with no signs of scalp shining
through. Humans should be so lucky. If I could find a way to transplant cat stem cells on the the head of man, I could make Bill Gates look like a street person. Of course having to use a lint roller after snuggling with your man, might be a turn off. Bet the guys with thin hair would jump at it though.

I love my cats but tense when they nest against me for I know I will be sprouting hair from all articles of clothing. Guess if I wore all angora clothing, no one would notice.
I know better, but one of my favorite colors is black. Black helps to give the illusion of being thin and sets off my white hair. However, it causes me to spend a fortune in lint rollers.

Now I don't intend to just complain and do frustration eye rolls. I do have a few answers that I will share. Brushing is supposed to help but so far, all I can tell is that it is the equivalent to a cat massage. They love it, huge amounts of hair are captured, but I still have tumbleweeds. There is no end.




The products below are unproven by me but I am relying on positive reviews. Both have been ordered and I will personally review at a later date.

First is the Pet Sponge. It is a pet hair removal tool but unlike lint rollers, it is made of rubber and can be washed and reused many times. I love the "green" quality. Maybe now I can get rid of those sticky lint rollers.




Second I am not sure how good it works but looks like the cats may have fun with it, It is a Feline Fantasy Brush. The picture tells it all. It is supposed to be easily cleaned via the dreaded vacuum cleaner. It looks brilliant unless you have a really short or an obese cat.







Did you know there are uses for cat hair? Me neither but some people do. I guess it can be spun into yarn which is then used to make apparel. Can only see that being functional if you are looking for a bird or rodent repellent sweater. I'll pass.

Also you can use it like you would lint from the washing machine lint trap. You mean you don't use lint? We have to be thinking "green" here people. Anyway, it can be used to line the bottom of a flower pot to keep the dirt in and let the water pass through. I am pretty sure my Mickey and Minnie could keep a small nursery supplied with pot liners

Washing machine lint can also be used as a campfire starter. However, am not sure I want to toast my marshmallows over smoldering cat hair. Probably not a good use.

David Frye at the Westminster Dog show once said something about pet hair that can easily apply to cats.
"Dog(or cat) owners," he said. " consider pet hair a condiment."

That about sums it up for me. Any other methods you have tried that work?? If it won't hurt the cat, I am game.

13 comments :

  1. I think this black panther that arrived when our 36 year old baby moved back home is shedding all the time. That he is over weight means more skin area is covered by more black hair. LOL Anyway, as nice as he can be, he still loves for me to pet him and then for allowing me to do that, he wants his reward and does his darnedest to bite me.

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  2. So glad computer/blogger problems rectified themselves.

    As a lifetime owner of dogs that shed (a lot) I learned to live with dog hair. Fortunately I am not allergic to dogs. However, they contribute to allergies by what they bring inside with their fur. Hence they are overbathed at my house.

    The dog hair is no different from cat hair; it forms doggie hair tumbleweeds in the darnest places.

    Since I'm also mentally allergic to housework, vacuum duties are triple whammy items, hurts my back, stirs up dust mites and I don't wanna.

    Since I live in a double wide manufactured home, our central HVAC hss floor vents which seems to make the hair tumble in its own organized way-whatever that is, which seems to be whatever impedes its progress--walls, under furniture, dining table legs.

    We also have ceiling fans in every room, except baths, to aid the HVAC.

    My "don't do housework" mode changes when the hair accumulation is visibly floating in the air, picked up for flight by the fans.

    Then my two iRobots come out. These are great for vinyl, tile, slick floors and low pile carpets. Their disadvantage is the small collector bin which need frequent attention.

    the iRobots probably don't deep clean, but I have carpets and upholstery professionally cleaned once a year.

    Plus I eliminated drapes, mini-blinds and much carpet on advice of allergist years ago. Did you know verticals (now out of style) do not accumulate much dust?

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  3. Oh my gosh! LOL! Tumbleweeds, comb overs - Thanks for my first laugh of the day!

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  4. Do as I do - wear black, but own black cats!! Problem solved.


    I was combing one of our cats on the deck yesterday, and mr. kenju and our granddaughter were saying how they couldn't believe how much hair I combed free in just a few strokes. It is amazing!

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  5. One of our cats was feeling so lonely, when we were on a holiday, that he kept licking his belly until it was bald. The neighbours looked after him and did a great job, but still he missed us.

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  6. You are such a good writer. Today's post was right on time. I'm going to order some pants in a few minutes and the challenge is always what kind of fabric and color will show and attract the least pet hair.

    I do okay in the summer, but come fall and dark colors it's back to the tape brush.

    We do have the sponge you pictured and it works well on furniture. Haven't tried it on clothing.

    Thanks for the laugh to start another day.

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  7. I am owned by three cats, who shed enough in one day to make coats for another three. I don't think I'd enjoy seeing a bald cat (although I believe there is such a thing) but, my gosh, how in the world do they shed so much fur and still have any left. Amazing!

    Well written story, Patti, as usual.

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  8. Well Patti... Did I miss a post??? You were having computer problems. Obviously, you got it fixed... What was wrong????

    I grew up with a cat --so I remember cat hairs EVERYWHERE constantly. AND--I also had a black Cocker ---so we had black hair everywhere when we had her also... There's no remedy!!! I say--IGNORE it---well, until you have that special 'Tea Party' in your home.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  9. Abe
    I am so impressed you had a cat for 36 years. That is a record as far as I know. Wonderful job as owners.
    It is funny how they think "love bites" are a good thing.

    Nitwit,
    Problems are at least workable now,not quite fixed.
    I am going to have to check out one of those iRobots. I want the one that puts itself away for recharging. Am I lazy or what.

    Cheffie mom,
    Thank you. A real compliment from someone whose posts crack me up.

    kenju,
    You are so smart. However I don't have a black cat. Do they make calico jeans?

    Linda,
    Thank you for your kind words. Am glad you have the sponge and that it works. Right now I could use one as my black jeans are covered in hair.

    Reader Wil,
    Well I guess that proves that cat "can" go bald. Hope it grew back when you returned.

    Pat,
    Thank you. The Sphynx cat is hairless but there is a good reason cats have hair, they are major ugly with out it. Guess if we love them we just put up with it.

    Betsy,
    I am not fixed but I am off the critical list. I have done some improvements but I am still having to work around the major problem which I think is Blogger. I am functional enough to blog and that is a good thing.

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  10. At last.... a reason to celebrate my thinning hair..., less vacuuming needed! The Good Lord must have had the best intentions after all when he planned that I become shiny on top!

    As to why cats aren't bald? Here are some ideas:

    1)Furry cats can keep us warm on cold nights, which is generous of them. Fat, furry ones are best at this (which is why thin cats always demand more food, they want to make themselves as useful to us as possible!).

    2)Furry cats give us something to stroke which lowers our blood pressure and reduces our own chance of a stroke of the wrong sort.

    3)Furry cats do their best to improve our lives artistically by becoming our Muse (Meews). Witness their abandoned looking poses on comfortable furniture, on chairs with the right colour to make the most of their looks. There are few human artist's models that can match a cat for purrfection!

    4)Furry cats can help us organize our social lives. They act as a filter, keeping cat haters from our houses, and also those with cat allergies!

    5)Furry cats help us to exercise, by cleaning up their shedding fur.

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  11. Very funny and very true Peter. Guess I will go with #5 as the best solution though 4 has a lot of merit.
    I love my furry pets but am amazed with all the hair they shed daily, how they still have plenty left.
    Smooth Ginger's whiskers for me.

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  12. There's a good use for dog hair too, to clog your vacuum.

    You would think they would go bald. Go figure.

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  13. Gena,
    I know. I don't see how they can lose so much hair and still have a full coat. It's magic.

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